THE BUZZ: There’s been a lot of talk lately about an increase in Xbox Live member accounts being banned by Microsoft, and the company has today shed some light on the subject.

Talking to Joystiq, Xbox Live Directory of Policy and Enforcement Stephen Toulouse said that an issue with the software used to assist in legitimate account ban control was the culprit. Between August 29th and September 9th, a variety of Xbox Live accounts were caught in this software error, and Toulouse said that the company is fully aware of which accounts were banned by mistake.

To make it up to those users, not only have their consoles been un-banned, but the accounts affected will be receiving three free months of Xbox Live Gold and 1600 Microsoft Points. Toulouse also stated that the software in question will no longer be employed, and that the company needs to provide more transparency when it comes to people being able to get more information about why their accounts were banned.

If your Xbox Live account was banned recently and you feel it was an error, try logging in again. If it was indeed a case of that account being caught in this issue, you should now have access to Xbox Live again.

EGM’s TAKE: It’s good to see Microsoft taking care of this mistake and giving an “I’m sorry” gift to those that were effected, but this indeed shows that users need far more resources for getting information on their account status when things like this occur. Yes, there needs to be a system in place for the banning of those users who truly deserve it, but with more and more of our gaming lives becoming intertwined with digital downloads and online-only features, it’s a scary proposition how one small act can mean the total shutdown of your console or game library.

Eric L. Patterson got started via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as can realistically be crammed in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights. Stalk Eric on Twitter: @Eric_EGM. Meet the rest of the crew.